The Latinx Connect conference aims to move us beyond “celebrating” Latinxs, calling for empowerment and justice for Latinx communities, who face numerous inequities in the US and across the world, particularly for those at marginalized intersections of Latinx identity (e.g., Afro, Indigenous, Queer, Trans*, Undocumented).
The theme of the conference this year is: ¡Imaginemos Juntos! Dialogues on Thriving Latinx Futures. The 2024 Latinx Connect conference will bring together students, educators, community leaders, and political advocates to dialogue about Latinidad and envision ways to empower and support thriving futures, both short and distant, for diverse Latinx communities at local, national, and global levels.
As the largest pan-ethnic group in the United States, Latinxs are extremely diverse by race, gender, language, immigration, and experiences along the diaspora, which creates opportunity for dialogue. Participants will discuss together what it means to thrive as Latinx/a/o/e/Hispanic at the intersections of their identities in topic areas including but not limited to education, public health, arts, and history.

There is no cost to attend the conference, and all are welcome.

Sami Day: A Cultural Celebration of the Indigenous People of Northern Europe

10:30am-12:30pm (Posvar 4310/4216 CUE Common Room)
- Watch the film Historja-Stitches for Sapmi (2022)
- Introduction by Randall Halle, Director of the European Studies Center at Pitt

12:30-2:00pm (Meet Virtually)
- Ann-Helen Laestadius, writer of international bestseller Stolen
- Anne Heith, Associate Professor in Comparative Literature and Media Studies

2:00-3:45pm
- Listen to Sami music and taste some light Sami snacks

Contact Gunnerl Bergstrom, LCTL Swedish Program (gwb40@pitt.edu)

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only,
all levels welcome!

Come have coffee and refreshments with Sherry Sykes, Pitt’s own Diplomat-in-Residence! She will provide guidance and mentorship to students interested in careers, internships, and fellowships with the U.S. State Department. Sherry will be available to chat anytime between 2-4 P.M. All are welcome!

Sherry is a senior Foreign Service officer, who previously served as Consul General in Durban, South Africa, and has held diplomatic postings in Mozambique, Nigeria and Ethiopia. In D.C. she has served in the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, leading U.S. efforts on ocean, air, chemical and plastic pollution agreements, and in combating wildlife trafficking and climate change. As Diplomat-in-Residence, she will provide guidance and mentorship to students interested in careers, internships and fellowships with the U.S. State Department.

How did the project of Soviet internationalism imagine a future for a “national musical instrument” like the Ukrainian bandura? Drawing on the archive of the Kyiv Palace of Pioneers (KPDU), the mass institution that provided afterschool opportunities for Soviet schoolchildren known as “Pioneers,” alongside interviews with bandura players, this lecture tells the story of the formation of the children’s bandura ensemble in Soviet Ukraine and the violent erasures that enabled its creation. The story begins with the consolidation of the bandura and the centuries-old bardic traditions associated with it as icons of Ukrainian national identity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Soviet 1920s, the bandura became entangled in a series of violent erasures: as the “old style” of playing was repressed, as tradition-bearers disappeared, and as the bandura’s most flamboyant champion was executed by the Soviet state.

Meanwhile, the Soviet project of rationalizing vernacular music in the service of building Communism saw the broad institutionalization of children’s music ensembles, including children’s bandura ensembles, at the premier Pioneer Palace of Soviet Ukraine. The history shows how children, imagined to be “powerful agents of revolution” (Kirschenbaum 2001) in the early Soviet period, were in fact often unruly vectors through which the ideological values of Soviet internationalism could be expressed. Based on archival materials and the testimony of a member of the first children’s bandura ensemble at KPDU in the late 1930s, this lecture reveals the contradictions that were inherent in engineering the Communist future through children’s music.

Maria Sonevytsky is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Music at Bard College
https://mariasonevytsky.com/

You might have heard the words “cultural humility,” but what does that really mean and how do you practice it? Join students, faculty, and administrators for an informal conversation as we reflect on our own global experiences, think together about what this means, and foster a global mindset!

This event will be offered twice, at the below dates and times. It is the same event, just 2 opportunities to engage in the conversation.

Monday, March 18 | 3-4 pm
Thursday, March 21 | 4-5 pm

Reminder: As part of the University Center for International Studies' Year of Discourse and Dialogue initiative, Pitt students are invited to vote by March 20 for their favorite new tagline for the Engagement Wall in the Global Hub. Help us identify a new tagline that better aligns with our institution's commitment to equity and diversity, and embrace a global education at Pitt informed by cultural humility! Vote here: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cSg1oEXti0gqync

In the fifth installment of the Global Issues Through Literature Series (GILS), educators will convene to discuss Home is Not a Country by author Safia Elhillo.

This year's theme is: Marginalized Voices in Global Context: Centering Overlooked Narratives in Literature

This reading group for K-16 educators explores literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context, and participants brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. Sessions this year will take place in a hybrid format, with virtual and in-person discussions taking place on Thursday evenings from 5-8 PM (EST). A copy of the book and 3 Act 48 credit hours are provided for each session.

Join the French Club for conversation hours, on Mondays & Thursday at 5-6 pm during Spring 2024, for French speaking individuals of varying levels to practice the French language.

Join the Persian Language Table every other Thursday during Spring 2024 to practice language, celebrate culture, and meet new people!